A lone flame flickered light over a dark, subterranean room. As the light flickered across the room, hordes of roaches scattered to darker corners. The candle that the flame sat on was being held by a short, squat, elderly man, donned in a white lab coat that stretched tightly over his belly. The old man grinned briefly before picking a large, pointed, drill-like instrument. He walked over to an operating table and addressed the man lying on it.

"Sir, it looks like that boy did a number on you," he said smugly.

"Quiet, fool. I hired you for one purpose and one purpose only – to be my personal surgeon. If you give me lip, you should expect to be... fired... soon. Just like your predecessor," the man growled. "Just repair the bionic housing on my helmet... and make it so that it can withstand a punch this time!"

"Yes, sir," the surgeon said meekly, all traces of arrogance gone from his voice. He pressed a button on his apparatus and a blowtorch appeared through a small slot. He lit the torch and leaned over the man. "Just hold still... it'll be done before you know it..."

A fluorescent light flickered on and off over a sanitized, white bed. The white covers over the bed obscured a small boy. His glasses had been singularly cleaned and were sitting on a table next to him. The boy was swathed in numerous bandages up and down his side, and he had a brace around his neck. He stirred.

"Ugh... ow..." he muttered as he sat up. A nurse, clad in immaculate medical garb, immediately rushed to his side.

"Young man, you should take it easy," she said while gently moving him back into bed. "You've not had enough time for a proper recovery."

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You are in the Lucky Nice General Hospital," the nurse replied. "It's the largest hospital in all of Mute City." She walked to the end of the bed and picked up a clipboard. "Your name's Terry, yes?"

"Um, yes, but... how did I get here?" Terry asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh yes, that's a strange story. We heard a car honk several times outside of the emergency room, and when we went to go check, a blue car was idling in the road. You were sitting in it, unconscious. It was the strangest thing – pinned to your shirt was an envelope that contained enough credits to cover your bill. But that's not important right now. You need to recover," the nurse said as she walked back over to Terry.

Terry thought for a moment. Panic struck him. "What day is it?"

"Why, it's Friday," the nurse replied.

Terry gasped sharply. The orientation was on Tuesday, and the race would be three days after... "No! What time is it?" he asked sadly.

"It's exactly..." the nurse looked at her watch, "1000 hours."

Terry sat up sharply. "I have to leave, now!" he shouted. The nurse tried to restrain him, but Terry jumped out of bed and raced out of the room. He burst out of the front door of the hospital and found the Cosmic Dolphin, quietly charging power through a solar intake panel. Terry flew inside the cockpit, noting that the windshield had been repaired, and shot the Cosmic Dolphin straight out of the parking lot.

Meanwhile, in the shadows cast by some bushes near the parking lot, a lone man smiled. His eyes were covered by a black visor, attached to a red helmet with a golden bird on it. He lifted one yellow-gloved hand to his chin and said to himself, "The boy's got spirit. That's important for the Grand Prix. He'll go far, if he learns that intelligence alone won't win the race for him... It's a good thing that Deathborn misfired his teleport on him." The enigmatic man disappeared into the shadows.

Terry rushed through the clear streets of Mute City. The city was quiet, an oddity for a Friday morning. "Everyone must be at the races!" he thought. "If I don't hurry, I'll miss my chance to be in this year's Prix!" He glanced at his watch. It read 1015. Terry's eyes widened and he accelerated the Cosmic Dolphin's engines even more.

After flying through several miles of relatively calm streets, he reached the Pipe House. The Pipe House was a misnomer, as the building did not contain any pipes except for those used in plumbing; rather, it was a teleport hub designed to help the busy commuter of Mute City. Terry parked his craft in one of the teleport domes and got out. A display on the side of the dome lit up with a picture of the galaxy. Terry poked at a picture of the Earth and the picture scrolled over to the familiar blue-green planet. He poked again, this time at a white-gray city with a decidedly technological feel to it. A message appeared on the screen and Terry got back into the Cosmic Dolphin. A bolt of electricity descended over the Cosmic Dolphin and its pilot; when it cleared, neither the car nor Terry could be seen.

The Aeropolis Branch of the Pipe House was bustling with activity. Men and women with briefcases hurried in and out of the domes, traveling to and from their workplaces, mothers held onto their children to keep them from wandering into the wrong teleport, families laughed as they thought about their happy day ahead. Suddenly, however, the crowd split, much like Moses' legendary parting of the Red Sea. A blue, swift craft bolted through the part and made a sharp turn onto the street.

Unlike Mute City, the streets of Aeropolis were very crowded, but Terry maneuvered his craft through several small openings. Eventually, he made his way to the race site, which was marked with a gigantic sign labeled, "Aeropolis – AX Cup – Screwdriver – 1st Course." Terry looked at his watch and noted that he had arrived a mere fifteen minutes before the race was scheduled to start. He parked the Cosmic Dolphin at the starting line and dashed toward the sign in desk.

Terry reached the desk out of breath and panted, "My name is Digi-Boy. I'm here to race." The registrar looked down at a sheet of paper and put a check on it. He looked back up.

"You're the last one to arrive. Follow me." Terry followed the man as he led the way to the track. On the way, he explained a few things about the race. "Now, we have 49 racers, but only 30 can race at once. So, we have different people race on different tracks at different times," he said. He began to rattle off a list. "Your fellow racers will be...

1. Mighty Gazelle

2. Jody Summer

3. Daigoroh

4. Samurai Goroh

5. Blade

6. Dewey Cheatum

7. Spade

8. PJ

9. Captain Falcon

10. Blood Falcon

11. Lily Flyer

12. Princia Ramode

13. The Skull

14. Dai, San, and Gen

15. Gomar and Shioh

16. Zoda

17. Dr. Clash

18. Beastman

19. Bio-Rex

20. Tanner

21. Mr. EAD

22. James McCloud

23. Don Genie

24. Phoenix

25. QQQ

26. Octoman

27. Super Arrow

28. Mrs. Arrow

29. John Tanaka

...And, of course, yourself."

Terry was able to pick out a few names, but most of them seemed foreign. "Oh well," he thought. "I'll have plenty of time to recognize them. I have five races to do so."

A man appeared high in the sky above Terry. He remained there, moving slightly up and down. "You made a big mistake, child..." he growled. "I promise you will regret this..."